Managing acute pain with physio

Mort

Mort

Newcomer
I'm 2 months into my second bout of sciatica, this time it's left me almost disabled. Yesterday I read Sarno's book, and I'm totally convinced by the diagnosis, at least my conscious mind is.

While I re-wire my concious thought patterns to affect change in my subconscious I'm still going to be in a lot of pain, just a bit too much to just laugh it off.

I'm going to carry in with the medication (codeine, gabapentin and marijuana), but should I continue with exercises taught by my physio? They do offer me instantaneous relief, and greatly improve mobility in my spasming piriformis muscle. I've cancelled future sessions with my physio, and most of the exercises are just basic stretches anyway.
 
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Hi Mort,

I had sciatica in both legs. I feel your pain.

Best to avoid giving it any physical attention, including medications unless really necessary.

If you must, take the medications but avoid giving it physical attention through physio.

Take care of yourself!
 
I had terrible sciatica, I took medication to be able to move, then I found running on a treadmill or cycling on a stationary bike really helped
 
I'd do the stretches only if you're thinking of them as general exercise and not something that will help your back pain. For true TMS healing you need to abandon the idea that you have a physical problem with your back.
 
PT is making a good point.

But at the beginning I would avoid even doing the stretches because they can trigger a conditioned response and you might start having pain again. Unless you are confident enough not to fear TMS pain, it can delay your recovery.
 
Here is a case I mention in chapter six of Rapid Recovery from Back and Neck Pain.

"Case in point: Harry, a friend of mine who is a mechanical engineer in his fifties, began having back pain while shoveling snow in Chicago eighteen years ago. He had received many different treatments with no success. Recently his condition had worsened. The pain was radiating into his legs, and his mid-back was also hurting. Harry had difficulty standing or walking for more than ten minutes and suffered the common restrictions that come with chronic back pain. He understood the concept of TMS, and as I explained the recovery plan to him he became quite excited. I helped him to design his own recovery plan, set goals, and choose ice cream as his reward.

The next day Harry walked thirty minutes instead of the fifteen minutes we had set as his short-term goal. He was able to stand and sit longer. He became quite excited about his small victory over eighteen years of back pain and celebrated with a taste of his favorite ice cream. However, since he had done so well, that night he decided to do his regular back exercises. These were the same ones he used to do for his back pain, and as this perhaps triggered memories of back pain on the subconscious level, he began to feel pain. The pain persisted and grew worse as Harry worried about it and criticized himself for pushing too hard. He had to spend part of the following day in bed. The story does have a happy ending. Since he was convinced that tension was responsible for the pain, he continued with the recovery plan, achieved his goal of jogging for about fifteen minutes in two weeks, and eventually recovered."
 
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